W: 315.8 BS: 127
Tue: (Day of the week but also German for 'Do')
Make soup & cornbreadDishesLaundryLaundry 2Taxi 1Taxi 2VacuumChickens?Fire & Wood- ?
A few days ago I made chicken-leek stock. Four chicken leg quarters and the green tops from six leeks. Add a gallon of water and a few spices and let the pressure cooker do magic for two hours.
Today I added a quart of that to a pot, along with two chopped leeks and a chopped carrot. Simmer a couple hours and then I will do the necessary to turn it into bisque. Perfect lunch soup on a chilly day.
I'm kind of up in the air on the whole tariff slash stock market slash treasuries kerfuffle. Likely just my own ignorance, but it seems complicated and muddled.
Trump says he's raising tariffs (but hasn't really done so yet for the most part). This makes other nations come streaming to the table to negotiate trade agreements. With Trump at that table, I feel good about that. I think it will turn out in our favor. We've been the worlds Doller-Store shopper for too long, and lost too many industries because of it.
On the other hand, tariff worries (real or not-so-real) have resulted in the stock market going BOING YOING YOING, which I expect deeply concerns the (economic) top 10% of the rich people who own 94% of all US stocks. The bottom 40% which own almost no stocks, not so much. The ones in the middle with 401's and pension funds, they might be worried if they paid attention.
Then again, the stock market going boing-yoing-yoing has driven money out of the market and into treasuries, which temporarily reduced the 10 year bond rate and would lead to reduced interest rates across the board if it continues. This is a GREAT thing for the bottom 60-70% of people because it reduces mortgage rates and pushes homes back into affordable zones. It also reduces car loans, variable mortgages, and encourages business expansion (jobs). The top 10% don't care about those things as much, but do I care if their fortunes dwindle a little? Whole lot of not caring going both ways there.
On the third hand, hovering over all that is the effect of lowered interest rates on the nation debt. The million, bazillion, gazillion bill from all of Congresses spending the last decade or so. It's a lot of Moola to finance their spree, and we are on the hook for it. Frankly, it's been like our drug addict ex-spouse got hold of our credit cards and flew off to Vegas. Any relief on servicing that debt could be a game changer for us taxpayers.
Lots of folks yipping about one facet or another, but nobody is talking about the whole mess put together. The people told to hate anything Trumpy are happily hating away as ordered. They do love them a good hate. The top 10% are being their usual quiet richiness and checking on their bought and paid for congresscritters. All us regular Joes in the middle are spinning in circles wondering what the joke is about.
Meanwhile, inflation rates are dropping, food costs are stabilizing, energy cost increases are backing down, and the economy is breathing on it's own again.
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